shoveler
/ˈʃʌv(ə)lə
/(also shoveller)
noun
1A dabbling duck with a long broad bill.
- Genus Anas, family Anatidae: four species, in particular A. clypeata of Eurasia and North America.
- Far less abundant and therefore more highly prized are pintails and shovelers.
- The shovelers and pintails have reached the northern plains and have spread through much of Alaska.
2 (British usually shoveller) A person or thing that shovels something: a snow shoveller...
- As Bella Vista's shovelers work into the late-afternoon twilight, the faint chiming of church bells wafts over from the nearby town center.
- When the shovelers come by, they shovel the bread, rats and spoiled meat into the sausage vats.
- Jurgis is hired at Brown's Meat packing plant as a shoveler.
Origin
Late Middle English (denoting a spoonbill): alteration of earlier shovelard, from shovel, perhaps influenced by mallard.